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Grand-Am adds Austin, Kansas, Road Atlanta to 2013 schedule

The Grand-Am Series will visit Road Atlanta, Austin and Kansas in 2013. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Grand-Am Road Racing announced its 12-race 2013 schedule on Friday, highlighted by three new events and one combined weekend with the American Le Mans Series.

Both the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge schedules will feature inaugural races at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas; Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.; and Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. In addition, Grand-Am will partner with the American Le Mans Series on a combination weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Homestead, Fla., New Jersey Motorsports Park and Montreal are off the 2013 schedule.

Grand-Am and ALMS are in the process of merging and will operate as one, new sports car entity beginning with the 2014 season.

“Last year we raced for the first time at Indianapolis and Detroit, and Grand-Am will continue to break new ground in 2013,” said Ed Bennett, Grand-Am president and CEO. “We’re excited about going to historic Road Atlanta—plus the new road courses at Austin and Kansas City—for the first time. And with the combined event at Road America, sports car fans will get a glimpse of the future.”

Grand-Am’s flagship race—the 51st running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona—opens the 2013 schedule Jan. 26-27 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Rolex 24 also opens the second annual North American Endurance Championship, a special three-race Rolex Series competition that includes the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen at Watkins Glen International on June 30 and the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26.

Grand-Am’s weekend at Indianapolis will include the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Grand-Am’s first races at the new Circuit of the Americas facility will be March 2. The Road Atlanta event is set for April 20, while the debut on the new 2.36-mile Kansas Speedway circuit will be Aug. 17.

The combined Grand-Am/ALMS weekend at Road America will be Aug. 10-11, with Grand-Am competition the first day. Grand-Am will join the Izod IndyCar Series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on April 6 and at Detroit Belle Isle on June 1.